I have loved every single book I’ve read by John Hart and THE UNWILLING is no exception. Hart has a creative way of layering his novels so anyone—whether they love historical fiction, romance, mystery, crime, or the thriller genre—can find something they love about this story.

Characters in a John Hart novel are never what they seem on the surface. Each one serves a purpose and is faced with individual moral dilemmas. Hart takes you inside each person, diving so deep, you can’t help finding the small cracks that make each of them human: their fears, their hopes, their lies, their secrets, their desires, their dreams, and their nightmares. The decisions they make are based on so many different things, that you as a reader are left wondering what you would do. This novel is thought-provoking times one hundred.

THE UNWILLING is about the search for light and happiness in all the dark and scary places that people try to avoid.

It was about an over-wrought mother struggling to cope with the loss of one son to the Vietnam War, the embarrassment of another son returning from the war high on drugs and addicted to the violent life, and the desperate grasp on protecting her youngest son from experiencing anything beyond the walls of his own home.

It was about brothers, one gone too early, one caught in an ugly underworld being forced to do things against his will to protect the ones he loved, and the last one struggling to become a man, figuring out how to make the right decisions in life and how to make his family whole again.

It was about a father who was a police officer struggling with the decision to uphold the law or disregard the rules to help his family before he lost them all.

It was about best friends who feel closer than brothers keeping secrets, dating girls, testing each other with dangerous challenges, and making tough decisions that could alter both their lives forever.

This book was filled with conflict, lies, and difficult moral decisions for almost every single character in the story. This is what drives the perfect thriller, but the dark underworld of guns, drugs, girls, gangs, prisoners, wardens, cops… these are the things that create amazing crime fiction. The suspense and tension will have you determined to “skip life” and just finish reading the novel.

I listened to the audiobook for this new release and I fell in love with Kevin Stillwell’s voice. John Hart added an author’s note at the end of the audiobook describing what inspired him to write this novel. I loved his answer regarding the dark vs. light and how good vs. evil.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to listen to an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book so much, that I have already pre-ordered a hardcover to add to my John Hart collection. If you love crime fiction, you MUST read this book!

received this book through netgalley from Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

This book was excellent. Rarely do we read about what war does to people, especially when most of their time in the service is held in secret. When Jason gets out of jail one of the first thins he does is get in touch with his younger and only living brother. His older brother and twin was killed in Vietnam prompting him to sign up. When he was dishonorably discharged and sent home addicted to heroin his family pretty much wrote him off. Now he is trying to mend some bridges with his brother.

When a young woman who used to date Jason and was seen waving a gun at him a few days before is found brutally murdered all evidence points to Jason. Jason didn't do it but his parents don't seem to want to help and he doesn't want his younger brother any more involved than he already is. When Jason discovers why he was set up he is angry but also knows how much danger his brother is in if he doesn't do exactly what he is being asked to do.

This is a story of family, and how fractured it can become in tragedy. It also shows how easily addicts are written off by their families without trying to help or find out the why. It is a coming of age as Gibby breaks free of his parents overprotectiveness and tries to find his own way. It is a thriller in the mystery surrounding Jasons return to prison and who is behind it.

John Hart hasn't disappointed me yet in his writing and this book is no different. He brings this time of coming of age during the Vietnam war when men 18 need to register and have the risk of being drafted and going to war to life. The free spirit and naive longing of just going to the quarry to swim and lay in the sun ogling girls paired with turning 18 and the possibility of being shipped off to war to die in a war that no one seems to understand. This is a great book about damaged people just trying to find their way the best they can.

The Unwilling by John Hart is the first novel I've read by the author and also a lot of firsts for me. I don't normally read this type of story but I read the book summary briefly then decided to request and see if I'll get approved. Then something awesome happened. Not only I got approved to listen to this emotionally strong novel but I also got auto-approved by Macmillan Audio!

To be honest, I don't have any expectations when I requested this book. I was just trying to diversify my reading based on the story, author, and narrator. I've always enjoyed reading female authors, female characters, and female narrators.  I am blown away by this book. It helped that the narrator brought the characters to life because this book is very character-driven.

I don't know if this is good or bad depending on the way you view it but the narrator is very effective in putting me to sleep. The story is set in Charlotte, NC during the Vietnam War around 1968 to 1972. With that being said, the narrator has a Southern accent and that sweet dulcet tone. It could be that because I sleep like a baby every night. I just started a new job and it is something I have never done before in my life. I shifted careers because the pandemic made my industry vanish. Listening to this book during my first week at work helped a lot to calm my mind. There is also one night that we had a windstorm here in Seattle. I've worked 10-11 hour shifts back to back. I really needed the rest. The strong winds and pelting hail and rain woke me up twice that night. I turned on this audiobook and upped the volume two levels than normal to drown out the sound. I slept like a log right away.

This is the first time I've listened to Kevin Stillwell. I have a negative bias towards male narrators because it is awkward whenever male narrators do female voices. I do not enjoy listening to that most of the time which is why I didn't enjoy listening to Midnight Sun even though the narrator is very lyrical and matched Edward Cullen's character very much. It just doesn't sound right to me. However, Kevin Stillwell was able to pull it through. It could be because the flow of the story is that good that I didn't even notice that he's doing the female voice. I wasn't paying that much attention to his talking in a female voice because I was focused on the story. Nevertheless, good job to the narrator for the female characters. As I've said, this book is very character-driven. The characters intensified the unfolding of the events and the story itself.

I would say that if you are very sensitive to violence and torture, I would put it in here to mention a trigger warning. But because I've read books with trigger warnings worse than this, in my opinion, the trigger warnings are manageable. It takes a special skill for an author to make a distressing event not triggering and John Hart managed to not destroy me in that aspect.

I'm writing this while I'm in the middle of listening to the audiobook. Even though I wasn't expecting anything, I thought this is going to be about the Vietnam War. As I listen along, it is not the main theme of the book. This book is about courage, thriving, hope, and family. I was so happy to realize that there are a lot of human aspects involved in this book. As a student of social psychology, I very much appreciated all the character interactions in this book. This is about brothers, father, mother, girlfriends, and friendships. This book is about a criminal's mind and feelings. About being in the dark and thinking you couldn't pull through. Trying your best to see the light. See the silver lining. So many things have happened in my life last year. This book has given me hope. Has placed me in a situation where I will never be in real life and made me feel. I've felt empathy for a character I've never felt before in my life. Despite the character being male, I was able to put myself in his situation and feelings.

Finished the book and I am satisfied with its ending. I honestly couldn't tell how this book is going to end, I am neither sad nor happy. I am satisfied.

Did it make me cry? Yes. Several times. The interaction between Gibby and Jason, French (dad) and Jason, French (dad) and Gibby, the boys with their mother, Jason and Tyra, Gibby and Chance. So many scenes that made me cry, I could go on and on. I couldn't tell you why without spoiling the story. When you get to those golden moments, you'll understand why I cried.

I highly recommend this book if, like me, you enjoy the study of human behavior. If you are in a dark place and wanted something to distract your mind. Read this book. If you have a brother or if you are a father or a mother who is trying to do right by their children, read this book. And if you feel dead inside, read this book. It is amazing how much I've felt and learned from this book despite at first glance you would think this is about the Vietnam War and PTSD. The book description does not give justice to how much more you will get out of this book.

I am elated and grateful to NetGalley, publisher Macmillan Audio for granting me auto-approval privileges, and author John Hart for providing an advance audiobook copy that allows me to write an honest and unbiased review. Thank you for making me feel and transporting me to a time and characters I can never imagine myself in without having listened to this book.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to listen to and review this audiobook.
As with all John Hart books, this is not just a crime novel, its a story about grief, war, broken families, brothers, coming of age, corruption and much more.
18 year old Gibby French is the youngest of three brothers. Both his brothers (twins) fought in Vietnam. One died there, and one came home a broken drug addict. After a stint in jail, the ex soldier comes back to his hometown to see his little brother, and things starts to happen around them.
I enjoyed the story very much, the only reason for 4 and not 5 stars were my annoyance at Gibby and his extremely poor choices. I know they were necessary to move the story along, but it was still a hangup for me.

This is the second audiobook I got from NetGalley, with both of them I experienced a glitch in the app, that prevented the book to automatic jump to the next chapter, so that I had to start some chapters manually. Its just a technical issue, but it makes it inconvenient to use the app while commuting or exercising.

This is my first book from this author and now I now why everyone loves his books!

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for giving this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this story was powerful, raw and emotional. Hart is an exceptional story teller, he draws you into the story in such a captivating way. I loved it and I highly recommend it.

http://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeepleasemx

This one was worth the wait! John Hart’s new historical mystery, The Unwilling, is simply magnificent. My thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the galleys; this book will be available to the public February 2, 2021. Those that love excellent fiction should get it and read it.

The French family is troubled. The father is a cop in their small hometown in North Carolina; the mother, Gabrielle, has some sort of emotional disability. Bipolar? Anxiety disorder? Who can say. All we know is that her nerves are shot, and she loses it quickly and easily. The couple have three sons; the first two are twins, but Robert, the golden one, is dead, killed in Vietnam. Jason went to ‘nam too, and rumors say that he killed 29 people there in his first year. He is rumored to be bad news and has already done a stretch in prison. That leaves the youngest, Gibson, known as Gibby. Both parents are possessive of him. As adolescence sets in, it begins to chafe, the way he is overprotected, and now that he’s a high school senior, he’d like a little more room.

And then Jason is released, and he comes home. He isn’t welcome at the family manse, so he stays elsewhere, but he wants to spend some time with Gibby before he blows town.

The title is a chewy one. Initially, I associate it with the daredevil stunt that some high school seniors—mostly boys—consider a rite of passage. It involves jumping into the quarry from a very high bluff; make the jump wrong, and you’ll be dead when you land. Gibby doesn’t jump. Jason does.

The basic framework of the story has to do with crimes Jason has done time for, and others that are committed while he’s in town. A girl he’s spent time with is viciously tortured and murdered, and many in the community make assumptions. But in reality—and we know this early on—he is being framed by a man known as “X” in prison. Truth be told, X is actually the weakest element of the story, and he’s mostly superfluous, but since this is supposed to be a thriller, the thread involving him adds suspense, particularly at the end. The climax is something else again.

But the most interesting aspect of the narrative has to do with the family, and by extension, one could say, all families. Over the course of time, a family’s story is told, and eventually labels develop. The small town setting in a pre-internet era makes this especially true, since most people’s interactions are limited to those that live in the same vicinity. And so, Robert French is the tragic hero, cut down in his prime while fighting for his country; Gibby is the baby of the family, a good kid, a good student; and then there’s Jason. Not long after the murder, Detective French speaks with the medical examiner about Tyra’s murder, and he asks the ME what would make someone do this; not just murder, but torture and mutilate. And the ME tells him that although it’s not the accepted clinical expression, “People like that are born wrong.” And though French is reluctant to say such a thing about his own son, he wonders if he should accept this as true. His wife, mother of all three sons, tells him, “Gibby is all that matters.”

But as the story progresses, we see that there’s more to this story; a lot more. Jason has simply given up trying to defend himself. Refusing to do so is why he spent time in prison. When the world gives up on you, why try? To be sure, he’s no innocent, sad-eyed puppy. He’s seen things, and he’s done things. But people are complicated, and when we try to drop them into neatly labeled boxes, we shut ourselves off from learning details that don’t fit the picture we’ve painted.

For me, this story was less about solving a crime, and more about the characters. I was thrilled that the main story wasn’t about Robert. I’ve read too many novels lately that focus on the dead sibling, and it’s becoming trite. But Hart is a seasoned author, and he doesn’t drop into that well-worn channel. Instead, we see why various well-crafted, complex characters think and act as they do. Reading it, I find myself thinking about my sisters, and the small ways in which we developed labels as children and young adults; happily, none of us was labeled the bad seed, but if we’d been boys…? And I think also of my own children. For a brief, terrible time, I saw my eldest as that person, the one dragging his sister into trouble. Later, much later, I learned it was actually the opposite, but he figured it was better if one of them was still in good standing, and so he took blame that wasn’t entirely his. It’s not a great feeling, but at the same time, my own experience made this story more interesting, and I’m willing to bet there are a great many other readers that will read this book and think about their own families as well.

There are appealing side characters here, and the most compelling is Gibby’s best friend, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who wants to make good.

So who is the unwilling one? Is it Gibby, for not jumping off the bluff? Is it Gabrielle, for not entertaining the possibility that her son, Jason, deserves more than she is willing to give him? Is it Detective French, for not being willing to completely give up on him? You can take this title in a lot of different directions.

Hart’s literary prowess shines here. It’s not always an easy read; during the more violent patches, I took it in small bites. I received both the print and audio galleys, and I moved back and forth between them, leaning more toward the audio, whose reader, Kevin Stillwell, does an outstanding job; but at times I forgot something, or wanted to check a detail or highlight a quote, and then I dove into my digital review copy. You can go either way without fear of disappointment.

Highly recommended.

It's Gibson French, or Gibbie as he's known to friends, senior year. He isn't sure what he wants to do with his life after that. Should he go to college as his parents want? The war in Vietnam is raging and he feels a pull to enlist and go there as his two older brothers did. But Robert, his oldest brother, was killed there and Jason, the middle brother, came back but as a broken shell of what he had been. Does the war deserve another French brother?
Then rumors start to float around that Jason has come back home after his dishonorable discharge and his time in prison. It's said he runs with the motorcycle gangs now, that he deals drugs and guns and that he doesn't care for anyone. So Gibbie doesn't know what to do when Jason seeks him out and seems to want to get to know him now that he has grown up. He goes on an outing with Jason and two girls and finds a man very different from the rumors.

But more trouble arrives. The girl dating Jason is found horribly murdered. Jason is arrested and sent back to the penitentiary where he is at the mercy of a psychopath who runs the place. When the other girl is kidnapped, the police assume that Gibbie is at the heart of that crime and now they are looking for him as well. But Gibbie has also been kidnapped, a pawn in the power play between the man who runs the prison, Jason and the police. Can he be saved?

John Hart has written a compelling view of a family torn apart by the times. The French brothers grew up with a policeman as a father and his black and white view of the world makes it difficult for him to accept his sons as they grow up and have their own ideas. He is quick to judge and although he loves his sons, he acts first and finds out the facts afterwards. The novel touches on the national nightmare that the Vietnam war was for so many families. It highlights the difficulties in growing up and separating from the child one was and it emphasizes family love above all. The tension is high and is ratcheted higher with every plot twist. This book is recommended for thriller readers.

I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator was clear and did an excellent job. Although the book is set in the South, there is no jarring Southern accent that so many outside the region get wrong. He especially did a good job narrating Gibbie and his high school sweetheart. The only wrong note was that of the powerful psychopath. His voice is given as a slow, accented voice with a lisp and it doesn't set the stage for the fear that the reader is meant to feel for him. Overall, the narration was clear and easy to listen to.

I loved this book! The feelings the narrator brings to the story are deeply disturbing as he tells the story of these two brothers that are all that's left of their family after war has torn them apart. The book was an experience. The audiobook deepens that experience.
******My review of the book******
This book is an experience! I "saw" everything through the eyes of Gibby, the youngest brother in a family so deeply affected by the Vietnam War that there is nothing left to call family. His brothers left for war with all of the illusions of the young. One died there. The other came back emotionally scarred so badly that he scares his own mother. As history has shown, this is not unusual for families touched by military conflicts. With John Hart's excellent writing skills, this is a deeply moving, exclamation shouting, journey through some very dark events in the French family's lives.

Brothers, bonded by birth, torn apart by circumstance. When you are 18, not quite a man, definitely not a child no matter what his mother says, how do you interact with a brother you no longer know? How much HAS he changed? Gibby decides to trust his brother Jason so leaves a party with his friends to go on a road trip with him. Jason gained a reputation for violence, and a prison record, as part of his Vietnam experience. On this day, in a town where he has always felt safe, Gibby will be drawn into a murder investigation that places his friends and him in danger. This day's events will forever change the way he looks at the world around him. (less)

Thank you, NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
It is a fantastic thriller about three sons and their parents who have all been affected by the Vietnam War. It was slow for me and took me some time to get in to but this is not the fault of a book. It is 100% me. Other than that I truly enjoyed the book.

Wow. The Unwilling is a fantastic thriller about three sons and their parents who have all been affected by the Vietnam War. One brother was killed in the war, the next brother was a killer in the war (per the town rumors) and the youngest brother was just becoming a man. The characters are well developed and the story sucks you into the plot. Although some of the beginning background was a bit slow, it quickly became clear as to the importance of this to the story and understanding of the decisions characters were making. I especially loved the ending, with some ambiguity about what these characters do next.
I also greatly appreciated the afterword by the author. #JohnHart does this section on the audiobook himself and I really found that these few minutes added to the book. The narrator, Kevin Stillwell, did a terrific job on telling the story and I found myself absorbed fully in the action.
Highly engaging and great use of the Vietnam War effects on those drafted, those who could be drafted and their families to frame the story.
#TheUnwilling #NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #StMartinsPress #Kevin Stillwell

This was a great mystery. I admit it took me a little while to get into it but once I did, I was hooked. I was drawn to Gibby and Chance and their friendship. The. struggles they faced. The only reason I don't think I will buy it for my library is that the content is a little too mature for middle schoolers. Otherwise, I think it is a fantastic story.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* would be like a 3.5, just took a while for me to get into it but after that it was pretty good

Great mystery/thriller that takes place in North Carolina during this time of the Vietnam War. There are three brothers in the French family; one died in the war, one's spirit died in the war and comes back with addiction issues, and the third is in high school. My only criticism/ warning to readers is that parts of it are graphic. I often listen to audiobook while cooking and eating which I don't recommend with this particular story.

I absolutely loved this audiobook. The way the book is written, it did not feel like listening to a book at all, but it felt like listening to a true crime podcast. The twists and the characters in this book are so amazing. I really would love to read or listen to more from this author.

Another compelling mystery from John Hart. He's a gifted writer with wonderfully developed characters and a vivid sense of place.

4.5 stars, rounded up
You don’t go into a John Hart novel expecting an easy read. His books are not for the squeamish. And this one is no exception. But, boy is it good!
Hart takes you right to the time and place. In this case, outside Charlotte, NC during the height of the Vietnam War. One French twin went to war and didn’t come home. The second came back, got involved in criminal enterprises and went to prison. The third, youngest brother is seeking to re-establish a relationship with his brother. During an afternoon outing, one of the women they’re with taunts a bus of prisoners. It leads to a riot on the bus and bad things follow from there. The woman ends up dead. It doesn’t help that the father is a police murder detective.
Each character is so complete, you feel like you know them. In a stream of consciousness, we know everyone’s thoughts. Gibby is right at the edge of adulthood, trying to peel away from his parents, especially his mother, and find his own way. Jason is definitely involved in a life of crime, but yet was a hero once upon a time and still worries about his younger brother. The father struggles with the mistakes he’s made concerning the elder brother and how to best protect his youngest. Even the secondary characters, Chance and Becky, are fleshed out.
The plot at times goes overboard and is unbelievable, especially when it deals with X, a billionaire prisoner out to get Jason. But I was so engrossed in this story, I could not put it down. It’s multi-layered with various themes, including war and its after effects, dysfunctional families, growing up and becoming your own person, of what it means to be courageous.
I did wish that Hart had explained the mother more. We know Robert was her favorite, but she was like a thread left hanging.
I was lucky enough to get both the ebook and audiobook. Both were wonderful experiences and I loved being able to flip between the two. Kevin Stilwell did a fabulous job as the narrator. He captured the emotions and the tension of this story.
My thanks to netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for advance copies of this book.

The Unwilling by John Hart and narrated by Kevin Stillwell is a compelling listen. Parts of the story captivated me and parts disturbed me. The author wrote some very graphic descriptions. I could envision so many details. The performance of the book was very well done. He gave the characters distinguished voices, and had appropriate emotions. The author wrote some unexpected twists too. Thank you Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for this review copy audiobook.

This gritty historical mystery tells the story of three brothers, two who served in the Vietnam war, and one who did not due to a fluke. When the surviving veteran is released from prison, it looks like things might just improve in the brothers' fractured relationship. A murder soon challenges that goal.

Stillwell's narration hits just the right note in tone, pace, and characterization.

Gibby (Gibson) French is the last son. One of his older brothers, Robert, was killed in Vietnam and his other brother, Jason, who enlisted after his brother's death came back after nearly 3 tours with a dishonorable discharge and a heroin addiction and lands in prison. Jason is released from prison but his mother just wants him to stay away from her "only" son of who she is now highly protective. His father, a Charlotte homicide detective, is pulled in all directions by his family and unsure where his loyalties lay. Gibby just wants to know his brother.

Gibby sneaks away from his mom for a day of driving, drinking, and girls with Jason in an attempt to know him. Not long after the girl that Jason was with shows up brutally murdered. Jason is the prime suspect but Gibby refuses to accept that. Soon though Gibby, in his attempts to clear his brothers' name, is also being looked at hard by the police as a suspect. And behind it all are much more evil forces at work.

John Hart is not the most prolific author, often times I'm waiting years for his next book, but when they do arrive it has been worth the wait. There are so many layers to this story, and his characters, and it seems like there's no end to their depth. This one is a deep, dark, thriller with a lot of raw emotion with a narrator who is perfection. Look for this one on February 2, 2021!!

Thank you to A Macmillan Audio at St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley for an advanced recording of #TheUnwilling.

Quite a good audiobook. I think, for this novel, I would've preferred reading it to listening to it. I don't think the narrator quite did the novel justice, but I'd definitely check out future books by Hart.